A Training and co-creation experience for creatives

Workshop #21 – European Performing Science Night is a training and co-creation experience for creatives, in collaboration with the research groups from the organizations within the project consortium, to generate the content to be presented during the European Performing Science Night. The workshop, which is taking place between 9 and 29 September, involves 20 creatives selected through an open call and the direct participation of 10 researchers in marine sciences and artificial intelligence. During the workshop, different scientific knowledge transfer sessions are held, which serve as a source of inspiration and content for the Night event. 

This edition of the workshop addresses ecosystems, both natural and artificial. On the one hand, digital systems driven by Artificial Intelligence have reached an authoritative role that guides and, in many cases, imposes our way of life in society. Our daily decisions are driven by these technological systems, which in turn are led by industry and business. What we eat, what we like, where we work and how we live are decided or influenced by invisible networks of algorithms.

On the other hand, natural ecosystems remain fundamental to the survival and well-being of all species, including humans. As digital systems become increasingly integrated into our lives, it is crucial to understand how these two types of ecosystems interact and coexist.
This workshop focuses on exploring these complex dynamics, seeking strategies to foster a harmonious coexistence between natural and artificial ecosystems.

The Experts

Experts from the Institut de Ciències del Mar (ICM), the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC) and the Centre de Visió per Computador (CVC) participated in this workshop.

Plastic ocean

The ICM carried out an analysis of single-use plastic consumption, dividing participants into two groups with different approaches: group A attempted to minimise the purchase and use of this type of plastic as much as possible, while group B aimed to increase it as much as possible. Each group collected, quantified and sorted all the single-use plastic used during the 15 days, and made an estimate of the amount they would generate annually by following the same habits.

ICM Challenge

Another experiment carried out by the ICM was to organise a paddle surfing trip in front of the port of Badalona. The aim of this challenge was to analyse and compare sea currents with ICATMAR data. To do this, about 30 paddle surfers were rented, and the creatives positioned themselves approximately 1.5 km off the coast of Badalona, letting themselves float for 30 minutes. Their positions were tracked using their mobile phones.

Inclusive adaptation to climate change

The UOC’s Transformation and Global Change Lab (TURBA) sought to analyse the impact of the exhibition on the public. To do this, they assessed the perception and opinions of the participants and the public in relation to climate change, raising questions about how it affects our daily lives and how we can find solutions.

Visual aesthetics without semantics

The CVC’s Neurobit group proposed a challenge in which creatives had to generate images with low aesthetic content, i.e. images considered ‘ugly’. The purpose of this was to use them to train an artificial intelligence, given that these learning algorithms (neural networks) are usually trained with mostly pretty images, which generates a bias in their results.